Better Health for All

Columbia Sportswear's OMNISHADE fabric provides UV protection and has received the Seal of Recommendation from the Skin Cancer Foundation.

The company has implemented a Chemical Management Policy since 2017, completing the phase-out of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from all product types and brands by the end of 2024. It has also restricted flame retardants in Mountain Hardwear tents (Spring 2019) and all children's products, and eliminated Polyvinylchloride (PVC) from all products. The RISE initiative has reached over 80,000 women-identifying workers since 2008, with a goal to reach 150,000 workers by 2025 in its supply chain in Asia, providing training on nutrition, menstrual health, maternal health, family planning, financial literacy, and anti-workplace harassment. Additionally, 26 AquaTower projects have been built, providing clean drinking water to up to 46,800 people.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Columbia Sportswear Company's core business is the design, development, marketing, and distribution of outdoor, active, and lifestyle products, not financial services.

The company does not offer lending or deposit services to consumers, nor does it have a loan/insurance book or generate revenue from high-cost financial products. Therefore, all KPIs related to financial services, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, inclusion initiatives (financial), data accessibility (financial), fair lending compliance, wealth building outcomes, profit reinvestment (community finance), financial literacy initiatives, debt burden ratio, geographic inclusion (financial access points), and product simplicity (financial products), are not applicable to its operations.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In fiscal year 2024, the CEO-to-median-employee pay ratio was 78:1.

Employee reviews on Glassdoor show 80% would recommend working at the company and 83% approve of the CEO. The company has faced several labor-related issues. In 2015, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) found infringement of workers’ associational rights in five of six factory assessments in Mexico. In 2015, 87% of 124 factories assessed by the FLA violated at least one hours of work benchmark, with 77% failing to meet the 60-hour workweek limit. One of the most common compensation violations involved employers’ failure to correctly calculate workers’ overtime payments in 23% of facilities. In 2015, 17% of factories used monetary fines as a form of discipline. In 2022, the company received a $15,150 penalty for one workplace safety or health violation. In 2014, workers at a participating supplier went on strike protesting non-payment of social insurance and housing benefits. In 2015, FLA assessors found mandatory overtime, a forced labor violation, in three US factories, two factories each in Vietnam and Turkey, and one factory each in China and Jordan. In 2015, 69% of factories in China were not providing workers with one or more kinds of social insurance at all. In 2015, FLA assessors found gender-based discrimination on wages in India, with most workers earning less than the minimum wage.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

None of Columbia's supply chain is certified by labor standards ensuring worker health and safety, living wages, or other labor rights.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is investigating allegations of forced labor at a supplier factory in Jordan, where 10 of the International Labour Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor were reportedly uncovered, including worker mistreatment, 16-hour days, seven-day weeks, and withheld passports, leading to a worker's suicide. Another worker also died by suicide in September. Columbia stated it is working on a "remediation plan" for these allegations. American Eagle, another brand supplied by the same factory, learned of allegations in November and "immediately engaged with Needle Craft and worked with the company to implement remedial actions." The factory owner, Needle Craft, stated it took immediate remedial action and promised to pay the deceased worker's salary to her family for two years. Finished goods facilities (Tier 1) are assessed annually, and 294 audits were conducted in 2024. 61 assessments were conducted at processing facilities (Tier 2) in 2024. Contract manufacturing partners must sign a supply agreement requiring compliance with laws and regulations regarding forced labor, child labor, human slavery, human trafficking, wages, working hours, conditions, work eligibility, and non-discrimination, and must understand the company's Standards of Manufacturing Practices (SMP) Policy. Audits and assessments are conducted at finished goods factories (Tier 1) and processing facilities (Tier 2). Raw materials are primarily sourced from Asia and purchased directly by contract manufacturers.

Honest & Fair Business

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Columbia Sportswear Company against any of the 'Honest & Fair Business' KPIs. details an Insider Trading Policy but does not provide data points for regulatory fines, transparency benchmarks, whistleblower policies, financial restatements, audit coverage, ESG controversies, complaint resolution times, board conflict of interest percentages, anti-corruption policies, or third-party verification.

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Kind to Animals

Columbia Sportswear Company has banned mohair, angora wool, and fur from its brands.

However, the company's formal animal welfare policy, last updated in January 2018, states that it still uses leather, wool, and down. The policy prohibits materials from animals killed solely for hides, live-plucked waterfowl, force-fed foie gras, mulesed wool, angora rabbit wool, and animals reared in cages. While Columbia products use 100% Responsible Down Standard (RDS) certified down and 100% of its footwear leather manufacturing partners were Leather Working Group (LWG)-rated in 2021, there is no evidence of a percentage of animal-derived ingredients replaced with ethical alternatives. The company's policy prohibits discretionary animal testing but allows for legal mandates to override alternatives.

No War, No Weapons

The provided article is a corporate responsibility statement that explicitly states it does not contain any quantitative data or metrics relevant to the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value.

No specific facts or figures are mentioned regarding arms contracts, dual-use technology, sales to embargoed regimes, peacebuilding investment, conflict divestment, board oversight, export compliance, lobbying, humanitarian procurement, human rights due diligence, arms trade treaty compliance, AI military safeguards, UN Guiding Principles alignment, dual-use screening, surveillance transparency, ethical red lines, zero exposure to controversial weapons, war risk audits, partner reviews, divestment percentages, conflict mineral percentages, peace tech investment, conflict zone procurement, or compliance rates. Therefore, no assessment can be made against the provided KPIs due to a complete lack of evidence.

Planet-Friendly Business

Columbia Sportswear reported total operational Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions of 31,790 tCO2e in 2024, which increased by 42.23% from 2022.

The company has not published a category-level breakdown of its Scope 3 emissions. While company leadership has approved quantitative GHG reduction targets for Scope 1 and 2, verification is in progress, and as of May 2025, the company has not indicated plans to adopt SBTi-aligned targets. Renewable energy use increased by 8% from 2019 to 2020, but no overall percentage of operational energy from renewables is provided. The company's ReThreads clothing recycling program, launched in 2017, is no longer active as of 2025. However, packaging boxes are made with a minimum of 95% recycled content, and poly bags use 50% post-consumer recycled content. The company was fined $100,800 by the EPA in 2014 for mislabeling clothing containing insect repellent, a repeat violation from 2012. No formal deforestation policy is explicitly stated, and no specific percentage of suppliers with SBTi targets is provided, though engagement with suppliers on GHG emissions is mentioned. The company has committed to protecting 1.7 million trees by 2027 with Conservation International, but no EBIT reinvestment percentage is provided. Columbia Sportswear aims to provide clean drinking water to 100,000 people daily by 2028 and is 80% towards this goal as of 2024, but no percentage of water withdrawal from stressed basins is reported.

Safe & Smart Tech

Columbia Sportswear experienced an unauthorized access incident discovered in Summer 2016, where a former employee used an unauthorized account to access the company’s network, private email accounts of numerous employees, and confidential business information for over two years.

The company leverages third-party providers and an internal Incident Response Team to alert them when a cybersecurity event occurs. As of February 2026, there is no recent security news regarding breaches. The former employee created an unauthorized account before March 2014 and used it for over two years, indicating that multi-factor authentication (MFA) was not available or enforced for this account. The intrusion was discovered in Summer 2016 when the company performed a software upgrade, suggesting a reactive rather than proactive vulnerability discovery. The company is deploying AI across its operations, including e-commerce and HR, and states that steps have been taken to manage security, including information security data privacy considerations. The company is subject to various domestic and foreign laws and regulations concerning information security and privacy, and its Audit Committee provides primary oversight of cybersecurity risk management, receiving quarterly updates from the CISO.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

In 2023, recycled polyester accounted for 6% of the materials used by Columbia.

The company has made efforts to reduce the size of its poly bags by folding products into smaller shapes. Columbia discontinued its Rethreads resale and recycling program as of 2025, which previously accepted used apparel and footwear for resale or recycling. Outerwear, sleeping bags, and backpacks are covered under a limited lifetime warranty, while other products typically have a one-year warranty. Columbia only repairs products if they are covered under warranty. The company settled a lawsuit with the U.S. EPA in 2014 related to insecticide use and undisclosed labeling. There is no evidence of current circular design principles being applied. The discontinued Rethreads program previously encouraged consumers to bring in used clothing and shoes.